## Chapter VIII The Preacher Should Practice Tolerance ### 1. Devotees must humbly tolerate opponents while preaching: Vaiṣṇavas must meet many opponents while preaching the glories of the Lord, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that they not become angry while preaching. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given this formula: ... "One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly." Those engaged in preaching the glories of the Lord should be humbler than grass and more tolerant than a tree; then they can preach the glories of the Lord without difficulty. *— *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *[[sb/6/4/5|6.4.5]]* ### 2. The preacher must practice tolerance (in meeting opposing elements): While engaged in preaching work he [the *sādhu*] has to meet with so many opposing elements, and therefore the *sādhu, *or devotee of the Lord, has to be very tolerant. Someone may ill-treat him because the conditioned souls are not prepared to receive the transcendental knowledge of devotional service. They don't like it; that is their disease. The *sādhu *has the thankless task of impressing upon them the importance of devotional service. Sometimes devotees are personally attacked with violence. Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, Haridāsa Ṭhākura was caned in twenty-two marketplaces, and Lord Caitanya's principal assistant, Nityānanda, was violently attacked by Jagāi and Mādhāi. But still they were tolerant because their mission was to deliver the fallen souls. One of the qualifications of a *sādhu *is* *that he is very tolerant and is merciful to all fallen souls. *— *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *[[sb/3/25/21|3.25.21]]* ### 3. The preacher should tolerate envious persons and go on preaching: When one is engaged in devotional service, he is often surrounded by envious people, and often many enemies come to try to defeat him or stop him.... The atheists are always prepared to harass a devotee; therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu suggested that one be very tolerant of these people. Nonetheless, one has to continue chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mantra *and preaching the chanting of this *mantra *because such preaching and chanting constitute the perfection of life. One should chant and preach about the urgency of making this life perfect in all respects. *— *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *[[sb/4/24/67|4.24.67]]* ### 4. The preacher should be humble and tolerate impediments: Following the orders of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one who preaches the glories of the Lord all over the world or all over the universe should be humbler than grass and more tolerant than a tree because a preacher cannot live an easygoing life. Indeed, a preacher must face many impediments. Not only is he sometimes cursed, but sometimes he must also suffer personal injury. For example, when Nityānanda Prabhu went to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the two roguish brothers Jagāi and Mādhāi, they injured Him and made His head bleed, but nevertheless He tolerantly delivered the two rogues, who became perfect Vaiṣṇavas. This is the duty of a preacher. Lord Jesus Christ even tolerated crucifixion. *— *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *[[sb/6/5/44|6.5.44]]* ### 5. The preacher must tolerate inimical persons: [After discussing "enemies" of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement—caste *brāhmaṇas *and parents of devotees:] We have no business creating enemies, but the process is such that nondevotees will always be inimical toward us. Nevertheless, as stated in the *śāstras, *a devotee should be both tolerant and merciful. Devotees engaged in preaching should be prepared to be accused by ignorant persons, and yet they must be very merciful to the fallen conditioned souls. If one can execute his duty in the disciplic succession of Nārada Muni, his service will surely be recognized. As the Lord says in *Bhagavad-gītā *([[bg/18/68|18.68-69]]): ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati bhaktiṁ mayi parāṁ kṛtvā mām evaiṣyaty asaṁśayaḥ na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ bhavitā na ca me tasmād anyaḥ priyataro bhuvi **"For one who explains the supreme secret to the devotees, devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear."** Let us continue preaching the message of Lord Kṛṣṇa and not be afraid of enemies. Our only duty is to satisfy the Lord by this preaching, which will be accepted as service by Lord Caitanya and Lord Kṛṣṇa. We must sincerely serve the Lord and not be deterred by so-called enemies. *— *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *[[sb/6/5/39|6.5.39]]* ### 6. The devotee (preacher) accepts reverses as Kṛṣṇa's mercy: When something is arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should not be disturbed by it, even if it appears to be a reverse according to his calculation. For example, sometimes we see that a powerful preacher is killed, or sometimes he is put into difficulty, just as Haridāsa Ṭhākura was. He was a great devotee who came into this material world to execute the will of the Lord by preaching the Lord's glories. But Haridāsa was punished at the hands of the Kazi by being beaten in twenty-two marketplaces. Similarly, Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, and Prahlāda Mahārāja was put through so many tribulations. The Pāṇḍavas, who were direct friends of Kṛṣṇa, lost their kingdom; their wife was insulted, and they had to undergo many severe tribulations. Seeing all these reverses affect devotees, one should not be disturbed; one should simply understand that in these matters there must be some plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The *Bhāgavatam's *conclusion is that a devotee is never disturbed by such reverses. He accepts even reverse conditions as the grace of the Lord. One who continues to serve the Lord even in reverse conditions is assured that he will go back to Godhead, back to the Vaikuṇṭha planets. *— *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam *[[sb/3/16/37|3.16.37]]* ### 7. A preacher must tolerate the asuras and make them become devotees: It is the nature of demons to give devotees trouble, just as in the West, Lord Jesus Christ was crucified because he was preaching God consciousness.... Actually everyone in the material world is more or less an *asura, *an atheist. If one preaches, one has to learn to tolerate the *asuras *and speak in such a way that they can also become devotees. *— TLK Ch. 15, text 35*